by Niki Acton '16

Aiyoung Choi '63 was part of a group of female peace activists who made an historic crossing of the De-Militarized Zone from North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) to South Korea (Republic of Korea) on May 24, International Women's Peace and Disarmament Day.

Choi speaks here of her experience with the Women's Peace Walk and the personal and global significance of her journey.

How did you come to participate in the Women's Peace Walk?

A good friend familiar with my interest in women's rights and world peace invited me to join a group of women to cross the DMZ from North Korea to South Korea to speak with women on both sides of the divided peninsula about peace and reunification of Korea. The group, "Women Cross DMZ" would consist of 30 peace activists from 15 countries around the world, led by Gloria Steinem and two Nobel Peace Laureates, Mairead Maguire of Northern Ireland and Leymah Gbowee of Liberia. Approval from the North Korean side came early, followed much later by South Korea.

With great anticipation, we bought one-way tickets to Beijing where most of us were meeting each other for the first time, and from there we flew into Pyongyang. Four days later on May 24 -- International Women's Peace and Disarmament Day -- we crossed the De-Militarized Zone from North Korea to South Korea, accompanied by two journalists (AP and National Geographic on assignment for the New York Times) and an award-winning film crew.

Why was this Walk important to you?

This Peace Walk was important to me on both a global and personal level. We had three primary objectives:

1. To bring international attention to the need for a formal peace treaty between North and South Korea. We called for a genuine peace treaty to replace the temporary armistice agreement that halted the fighting between the two countries to end the 1950-53 Korean War. In the absence of a mutual commitment to peace, the two countries have existed to this day in a growing state of hostility and arms build-up.
2. To call for the reunion of millions of families separated by a political/military decision at the end of WWII by the U.S. and the Soviet Union that divided the Korean peninsula in half at the 38th parallel. Thousands of elders have died while waiting for the opportunity to see their loved ones again.
3. To highlight the integral role of women in building peace, as mandated by the 2000 UN Security Council Resolution #1325 that requires that women must be present at any peace negotiations.

I joined this walk not only for peace in Korea and the world, but also for my own personal peace. Although I became a U.S. citizen in 1975, at my core -- genealogically and culturally -- I am Korean. The tragedy of millions of families separated for almost three generations (my entire lifetime) has weighed on me for years. Two years ago, when some research showed that I was born not in Seoul, South Korea as I had long believed, but in Hamheung in (what is now) North Korea, I began to feel an urgency to go there. So to walk from North to South Korea had tremendously deep meaning for me, both symbolically and personally. While I have often visited South Korea, going to North Korea was almost a dream come true.

What work did you do with the women in North and South Korea?

Our major accomplishment beyond crossing the DMZ itself (which was a complicated affair), was that we successfully engaged in person-to-person citizen diplomacy with North Korean women. We explored ways to collaborate on working for peace in Korea, and had the unique opportunity to regard each other with genuine interest, respect, and empathy.

In Pyongyang we shared the stage in a formal Peace Symposium organized by North Korean women. This was followed by four days of informal, personal conversations far more interesting and meaningful. With 15 bilingual "minders" accompanying us as interpreters/guides, we traveled together by bus, visiting national landmarks such as museums, a hospital, elementary school, textile factory, workers' dormitories, and a grand theater. We toured the countryside, had lovely picnics and dinners and candid conversations about family, school, work, love, war, and survival. We spoke of why we had met half way around the world and about our hopes and dreams for peace and reunification in Korea. We shared tears and laughter. On the final day of our departure for the DMZ, a spectacular lineup of 5,000 North Korean women under the Unification Tower saw us off with cheers and tears, to which we responded in kind.

When we finally linked arms and made the dramatic crossing over the DMZ and entered the south, we were greeted by about 2,000 cheering South Korean women, men and families. There was a spectacular music festival and a beautiful traditional banquet to welcome us.

The next day was spent at a Peace Symposium organized by South Korean women. The Mayor of Seoul came to give welcoming remarks, and leaders of South Korean women's peace organizations and members of our delegation shared the podium to speak about working for peace in our own countries and thoughts for collaboration in the future.

Every day on this journey, music and colors had an important symbolic role. At the North and South peace symposia, on long bus trips, and even at Panmunjom (the somber site of the 1953 Armistice Agreement signing) we sang peace songs, in English and Korean. Brilliant colors cascaded from a hand-stitched "jogakbo" (multi-colored patchwork quilt, 20'x30 made by U.S., North Korean and South Korean women) which we brought to every gathering and, with all joining in song, it was held up and waved like a giant flag to celebrate our diversity, shared hopes, and unity of spirit.

Our historic journey ended on May 27, 2015 in Seoul, and in parting, we reiterated our commitment to continuing our support for the ongoing peace efforts of our North and South Korean sisters. And now back in our own countries each of us has embarked on a mission to educate our communities and create a global movement to highlight the importance of dialogue and diplomacy as the way to peace.

What was the most memorable experience of your time in Korea?

No single experience stands out for me, but the aggregate of everything I experienced on this journey is vivid in my memory. I see broad avenues and boulevards in Pyongyang with wide sidewalks and few marked pedestrian crossings; all the men wearing suits or in military uniform; women, slim and fashionably dressed, wearing heels; new buildings under construction while many looked empty; some cars, buses and trucks but few bicycles and even people on the streets; radiant school children on field trips to national parks; many tourists and foreign businessmen at restaurants and chatting in the lobby of our international hotel; abundant, lavish food at all our meals; farmers in the countryside working by hand or with antiquated tools, or on an occasional rusty old tractor; and vast, dry fields begging for water. These images are unforgettable, as is the vague feeling that I may never truly understand what I saw.

As expected, I was filled with mixed emotions throughout this 10-day journey. I felt joy, surprise, nostalgia, bewilderment... In North Korea I felt like a stranger in a strange land, albeit the land of my birth some 75 years ago. But when total strangers came over to embrace me as a sister, I felt wonderfully at home. Did I come as an ambassador of goodwill and peace? Or in search of something else?

Like many, I went to North Korea with biases about life there but also desperately wanting to see it with my own eyes. Certainly, I came away vastly more informed than before, but I also recognized that much of what we heard had appeared scripted, which was no surprise. But combined with genuinely spontaneous and candid exchanges during many conversations over four days, the total experience of this journey was both somewhat frustrating and deeply fulfilling, and one for which I am immensely grateful.

Choi currently lives in New York City. She is a passionate advocate for human rights and world peace. She has received numerous honors, including the 2008 Manhattan Borough President's Distinguished Leadership Award, 2006 Inspiration Award from Asian Professional Extension, 2005 Outstanding Leadership Award from the Korean American Family Service Center, New York City Council's Outstanding Service Award, and more.